Machine for applying foil to surfaces



May 30, 93 w. "r. DEACON El AL MACHINE FOR APPLYING FOIL TO SURFACES 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 6, 1931 id m eoN w m e TAR O NM T 5 P T 51 A M 4 u E e w; WH ,Y 5

May 30, 1933.

W. T. DEACON ET AL MACHINE FOR APPLYING FOIL TO SURFACES 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 6, 1931 6 MW H N MM W 65 up w IF. 4 WW W my May 30, 1933. w. T. DEACON Er AL MACHINE FOR APPLYING FOIL T0 SURFACES Filed June 6, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented May 30, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM T. DEAOON, 0F RICHMOND HEIGHTS, AND HARRY F. PERKINS, OF CLAYTON,

MISSOURI, ASSIGNORS TO METALFOILS, INCORPORATED, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI,

A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI MACHINE FOR- APPLYING FOIL TO SURFACES Applcation filed. June 6, 1931. Serial No. 5 12,59

This invention relates to a machine that is primarily adapted for use in applying a strlp of metal foil to a surface that is being covered with foil, said machine being of the general design illustrated in our pending applicatlon for patent Serial No. 476,209, filed August 18, 1930.

One object of our present invention is to simplify the construction and improve the operation of a foil applying machine of the general design or type disclosed in our sa1d pending application for patent.

Another object is to provide a portable foil applying machine, in which the supply roll or coil of foil and the means used toflange the edge portions of the strip of foil, can be installed and removed as a unit from the chassis of the machine.

Another object is to provide a foil applying machine that is equipped with a novel flanging mechanism which is of simple design and of such construction'that the strip of foil can be easily threaded throughthe machine.

And still another object of our invention is to provide a track for foil laying machines, that is light in weight, of rugged construction and capable of being quickly installed or shifted about on a surface'to which a foil sheathing is being applied. Other objects and desirable features of our invention will be hereinafter pointed out.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a top plan view of a foil applying machine embodying our present invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of said machine.

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical transverse sectional view, taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view, taken on approximately the line k4 of Figure 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of the flanging mechanism, illustrating the stationary forming devices with which rollers co-act to progressively flange the edges of the strip of foil as the strip is drawn from the supply roll.

Figure 6 is a detail view, illustrating how the roller H can be shifted into an inactive position.

Figure 7 is a side elevational view of a pressing shoe of novel construction, that may be used in place of a pressing roller.

Figure 8 is a top plan view, partly broken away, of a pressing roller made up of a number of sections or parts mounted on a flexible shaft.

Figure 9 is a top plan view of our improved track for foil laying machines.

Figure 10 is an enlarged detail view, illus trating how the cross braces of the track shown in Figure 9 are detachably connected with the rails.

Figure 11 is a vertical cross-sectional view of one rail of said track, illustrating how the supporting blocks for said rail co-act with the flange of a strip of foil that has been applied, to properly position the track, and thus cause the machine to travel in such a path that the strip of foil being applied will extend parallel and in close proximity to the last strip that was applied; and

Figure 12 is a cross-sectional view, illustrating another type of cross brace that may be used for holding the rails in spaced relation.

The foil laying machine herein illustrated is intended to be used for applying strips of foil, which subsequently are joined together by locked seams so as to produce a gas and liquid-tight sheathing for a roof, wall or other surface which it is desired to protect. In general design and principle of operation it is the same as the machine disclosed in our said pending application, and has provision for supporting a supply roll or coil composed of a wound or coiled strip of foil, a means for flanging or producing upwardly-projecting portions on the longitudinal edges of said strip during the operation of withdrawing same from the supply roll or coil, a means for laying the strip straight so that one flange of same will extend parallel to and in contact with the flange of a previously applied strip, and means for smoothing out said strip and exerting pressure on same in a direction to force it towards the surface being covered, or

into intimate contact with an adhesive or other material that is interposed between the foil and the surface being covered. The machine may have provision for applying one or a plurality of strips of foil simultaneously, and it may be either pushed or pulled over the surface being covered manually or by a propelling mechanism, or may remain stationary and the foil drawn out by hand.

The machine herein illustrated is distinguished from the foil laying machine described in our said pending application for patent, in that it comprises a chassis on which is removably mounted a structure that sustains or carries the supply roll or coil of foil and the mechanism that is used to flange the longitudinal edge portions of the strip of foil. The machine is also provided with numerous other novel features that facilitate the operation of installing the strip in the machine, insure the production of straight, smooth flanges joined by sharp, square corners to the web or body portion of the strip, and insure the foil being applied without damaging same and in such a manner as to prevent wrinkles and air pockets. We have herein illustrated the machine as traveling on a track that maintains the machine some distance above the surface that is being covered with foil, but it is not essential that a track be employed, for if desired, the machine can be mounted directly on the surface being covered, in which event the machine will be equipped with a gauge or similar means that is adapted to co-act with a guiding device or with the flange of a previously applied strip, so as to insure the machine traveling in the proper path.

As shown in the drawings, our improved foil applying machine comprises a chassis that is preferably composed of an angle iron frame A of substantially oblong shape in outline equipped with two transversely-disposed shafts 1 that carry four supp rting wheels 2. Attached to the frame A a pi'votally mounted handle B that is adapted to be used to manually push or pull the machine over the surface that is being covered. Preferably, the wheels 2 travel on an elevated track, hereinafter described, that maintains the mach inc some distance above the surface that is be ing covered with foil. A separate frame that is reinovably mounted on the chass s frame A, carries a supply roll or coil C of fo l, and a flangingmechanism that causes the side edges of the strip 3 of foil to be bent upwardly to form flanges 2 thereon which subsequently are curled or bent into interlocking engagement with flanges on other strips of foil so as to produce locked scams or joints between adjacent strips. Said removable frame can be constructed in varous ways, but it is herein illustrated as being composed of end members D, preferably castings, joined together by transversely-disposed tie bars 3,

and retained in operative position on the chassis frame A by four corner blocks 4 connccted to said chassis frame, as shown in Figure 1. In order that the supply roll or coil C of foil may be easily installed in and removed from the machine, the coiled strip of foil constituting the supply roll is wound around a tubular spool 5 and said tubular spool is, in

' turn, rotatably mounted on a supporting shaft 6. Collars 7 and 8 provided with reduced portions 7 and 8, respectively, are positioned in the opposite ends of the spool 5, and the supporting shaft 6 extends through the collars 7 and 8. The supporting shaft 6 of the supply roll is removably mounted in upwardly-projecting arms 9 on the end members D of the removable frame, and one or both of said arms 9 are provided with split bearings 10 that can be adjusted so as to vary the frictional pressure of the bearing on the Figures 1 to 6 the flanging mechanism comprises a horizontally-disposed roller E, arranged directly underneath the supply roll or coil of foil C, and having its end portions beveled slightly, so that it will impart an initial bend to the strip of foil y, as said strip is drawn off the supply coil. At the rear of and under the roller E are two stationary forming devices F, see Figures 1 and 5, located adjacent the end members D of the removable frame and being of such cross-sectional shape that they exert pressure on the side edge portions of the strip of foil in a direction to bend said side edge portions upwardly to form'the flanges a, previously mentioned. As shown in Figure 5, the front ends of the forming devices F are substantially flat, but from this point rearwardly the cross-sectional shape of said forming devices F gradually changes, and finally, terminates in a' substantially right-angle-shaped section, whereby the strip of foil, in traveling rearwardly through the substantially channel-shaped guide produced by the two forming devices F, will be progressively changed from a flat or substantially flat strip into a substantially channel-shaped strip. In order to produce flanges that are joined by sharp, square corners to the web portion of the strip of foil, short cylindrical rollers G are mounted on horizontal spindles on the end members D at such a point that they will cause the foil to be pressed against the forming devices F to gradually form the flanges, as shown in Figure 4; A final shaping roller H is arranged at the rear of the short rollers G,

of the operation oflaying a strip of foil. In

the machine herein illustrated the roller H is carried by two shiftable bearings I'arranged at the ends of said roller and pivotally connected by pivots 11 to the end members D of the removable frame that carries the supply roll or coil and the flanging mechanism. Normally, the roller H is held in the position illustrated in Figure 3 by means of latches 12 on the end members D that co-operate with notches in the upper end portions of the shiftable bearings I, as shown in Figure 6. By manipulating the latches 12 the bearings I can be released and then-swung into the position shown in broken lines in Figure 6, so as to shift the roller H far enough away from the stationary forming devices F to permit the strip of foil to be easily drawn rearwardly through said devices F. A

At the rear end of the machine is a pressing roller J that causes the flanged strip of foil to be smoothed out and pressed tightly against the surface being covered, or pressed firmly down upon an adhesive that is used to secure the foil to the surface being covered. The roller J is preferably of greater diameter at its center than at its ends so that the strip of foil will be pressed from its center towards its side edges, thereby effectively eliminating wrinkles and air pockets, and while the particular method of mounting said roller is immaterial, we prefer to journal said roller in the free ends of a pair of arms 13 that project from the rear end of the machine, and which are pivotally connected at 13* to the chassis frame A. The roller J should be fairly heavy, or the supporting arms for said roller should be under spring tension, and in most instances said roller will be provided with a weighted center portion or core, and a covering or active face of rubber or some other suitable resilient material.

While we prefer to use a pressing roller to smooth out the flange strip of coil and apply it under pressure to the surface being covered, it is possible to carry out thisoperation by means of a wooden skid K provided with inserts K of rubber, leather or othor flexible material and equipped with a weight K as shown in Figure 7, said skid being mounted in pivotally mounted supporting arms 13 that project rearwardl-y from the chassis frame A.

Figure 8 illustrates still another form of pressing device consisting of a fiexible'roller made up of a number of sections L, capable of moving independently of each other to a limited extent, and mounted on a flexible shaft L, such as a shaft formed from a stiff coiled spring, said roller being mounted in swinging arms 13. The sections of the roller are preferably made of lead or other heavy material, surfaced material.

In order that the machine will remain at rest, or stationary when it is removed from the track and placedupon a roof or other surface that is being covered, and to protect the lower edge of the formers F, the machine is equipped with stationary legs N shown in Figure 2, which are so proportioned and constructed that they will serve as a substantial supporting base for the machine when it is removed from the track, but will be spaced a considerable distance above the surface being covered when the machine is mounted on the track. Said supporting; legs N are herein illustrated as being formed from pieces of bar iron, bent to form a horizontal base portion, and upwardly-projecting, vertical legs provided at their upper ends with eyes that fit over the ends of the shafts 1 that carrythe supporting'wheels 2.

We have found that While a foil applying machine of the general type previously described can be used with some degree of satisfaction on a perfectly flat roof, that it is necessary when working on irregular roofs or cone-shapcd roofs, such as are found on oil tanks, to use a track or similar means for guiding the machine over the roof. Accordingly, we have devised a track for foil applying machines which is preferably madeup of side rails 0 formed preferably from U-shaped or channel-shaped sections of light gauge steel and joined together by tie bars P that can be easily connected with and disconnected from the rails O. The rails O are reinforced by attaching to them angle iron members R (see Figure 11) and are so constructed that they will be more flexible in one direction than they are in the other, the flexibility being in a vertical direction so that the track formed from said rails will conform to irregularities in the surface being covered, the track being relatively stiff in a horizontal direction so as to insure the machine being guided in a straight line. The tiebars P previously referred to are arranged at intervals of about five feet and are provided with substantially T-shapcd heads P that are adapted to bc interlocked with substantially T-shaped socket pieces P carried by the rails. Such a method of joining the tie bars P to the rails permits the tie bars to be combined with the rails quickly during the operation of installing the track, and permits the tie bars tobe removed and then replaced,

With rubber or a similar one after the other, as the machine is moved longitudinally of the track, it being necessary to remove the tie bars P successively as the machine travels towards the end of the track, due to the fact that said tie bars normally occupy a position between the supply roll of foil and the surface being covered. At the end of the track the rails O are held in properly spaced relation by a tie bar S. Instead of using tie bars P provided with substantially T-shaped devices P that are detachably interlocked with socket pieces P carried by the rails, we may use tie bars P which are provided at their opposite ends with blocks P", as shown in Figure 12, that are adapted to be inserted in-the channelshaped rails 0. Tie bars of this kind are inexpensive to construct and are easy to install and remove.

At approximately five foot intervals wooden supporting blocks T are provided for holding the rails O of the track approximately one inch above the surface that is being covered. These supporting blocks T have their inner ends shaped in such a way that when the supporting blocks of one rail are arranged in snug engagement with the flange 2 of a strip of foil 1 that has been previously applied, the track as an entirety will be maintained in such a position that the strip of foil that is being applied by the machine will be disposed in such relationship with the previously applied strip that the co-acting flanges on said strips will be in abutting relationship. The supporting blocks of the other rail ofv the track (the left hand rail not shown in Figure 11) will rest upon the surface being covered and will be kept in alignment by the removable tie bars. If an adhesive is used to secure the foil to said surface, said adhesive will serve as a holding means for the supporting blocks of the left hand rail, or an adhesive may be applied to said blocks to hold them in position. Vhile we prefer to use wooden supporting blocks for the track, this is not essential, so long as the track is provided with a supporting means that will not deface or injure the foil on which the supporting means of one rail rests in the operation of applying a strip of foil to the surface being covered.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine for applying a strip of foil to a surface, comprising a chassis frame provided with supporting wheels, a removable structure on said frame having end members, a foil supply roll or coil carried by said end members, a fianging means carried by said end members, and devices on said chassis frame that hold said removable structure in operative position. 4

2. A machine for applying a strip of foil to a surface, comprising a rectangular chassis frame provided with transversely-disposed axles, supporting wheels on said axles, a removable structure on the chassis frame having end members, a foil supply roll or coil and a fianging means carried by said end members, and devices at the corners of the chassis frame that hold said end members in operative position.

3. A portable machine for applying a strip of foil to a surface, provided with means for supporting a supply coil or roll, a stationary forming means on said machine arranged to act on the edge portions of the strip and having substantially angular-shaped portions at the point where the strip leaves said means, a roller-arranged at the front end of said means which imparts initial upward bends to the side edge portions of the strips, a pair of intermediate rollers that co-act with said devices to bend the side edge portions of the strip upwardly at an obtuse angle to form flanges on the strip, a final roller that presses said flanges into snug engagement with the angular-shaped portions of said forming means, and a means arranged at the rear of i said fianging mechanism for smoothing out the strip and applying it under pressure to the surface being covered.

4. A machine for applying a strip of foil to a surface, comprising a chassis frame provided with supporting wheels, a removable structure on said frame provided with means for supporting a supply roll or coil, a flanging mechanism on said removable structure comprising a stationary'forming means and a co-acting roller, and means for enabling said roller tobe shifted into an inoperative position to facilitate threading the strip through the fianging mechanism.

5. A machine for applying a strip of foil to a surface, comprising a supporting structure provided with means for fianging a strip of foil as it is being drawn from a supply coil, a track on which said machine travels, wheels on said structure that are adapted to travel on said track, and means on said struc ture that is adapted to be engaged with or, rested on said surface so as to hold said structure at rest when said supporting wheels are not in engagement with their track.

6. An apparatus for applying a strip of foil to a surface, comprising a portable means having provision for supporting a supply coil of foil and provided with means for progressively fianging the strip of foil as it is drawn off the supply coil, and an elevated track on which said portable means travels.

7. An apparatus for applying a strip of foil to a surface that is being covered, comprising a portable means having provision for supporting a supply coil of foil and provided with means for progressively fianging the foil as it is drawn ofi the supply coil and to said surface, an elevated track on which said machine travels, and supporting devices for said track that maintain the track in drawn ofi" the supply coil, asupporting track proper position, said track supporting defor said machine, and means forenabling said vices being adapted to engage the flange on track to be held in position on said surface by a piece of foil that has been applied to said an adhesive.

surface.

8. An apparatus for applying a strip of foil to a surface, comprising a machine having provision for supporting a supply coil of foil and provided with means for progressively fianging the edge portions of the strip of foil as it is drawn ofi the supply coil,

and an elevated track on which said machine travels, said track being capable of flexing more in a vertical direction than in a horizontal direction.

9. An apparatus for applying a strip of foil to a surface, comprising a machine having provision for supporting a supply coil of foil and provided with means for progressively fianging the edge portions of the strip of foil as it is drawn off the supply coil, an elevated track on which said machine travels, comprising parallel rails, and a means detachably combined with said rails for maintaining them in properly spaced relationship.

10. An apparatus for applying a strip of foil to a surface, comprising a machine having provision for supporting a supply coil of foil and provided with means for progressively fianging the edge portions of the strip of foil as it is drawn oif the supply coil, an

elevated track on which said machine travels, said track comprising parallel rails, and transversely-disposed tie bars removably combined with said rails.

11. An apparatus for applying a strip of foil to a surface, comprising a machine having provision for supporting a supply coil of foil and provided with means for progressively fianging the edge portions of the strip of foil as it is drawn 0E the supply coil, an elevated track on which said machine travels, comprising substantially channel-shaped rails, removable tie bars, and co -acting means on said tie bars and rails for detachably interlocking the tie bars with the'rails.

12. An apparatus for applying a strip of foil to a surface, comprising a machine having provision for supporting a supply coil of foil and provided with means for progressively fianging the edge portions of the strip of foil as it is drawn off the supply coil, an elevated track on which said machine travels, comprising rails of substantially channel shape in cross section, supporting devices connected to said rails, socket members carried by said rails, and removable tie bars detachably connected with said socket members for holding the rails in properly spaced relationship.

13. An apparatus for applying a strip of foil to a surface, comprising a portable means having provision for supporting a supply coil of foil and provided with means for progressively fianging the strip of foil as it is WILLIAM T. DEAGON. HARRY F. PERKINS. 

